Open Cities team : Sunlight Foundation

Lessons from Tactical Data Engagement in Norfolk and Austin

by Open Cities team Jun 26, 2019 1:53 pm

Our new case studies dive into our Tactical Data Engagement (TDE) work with Norfolk and Austin, as we continue to explore how open data and user-centered design can be applied to find solutions for real local issues.

Fairer food for Philadelphia: Providing better meals through open contracting

by Open Cities team, Open Contracting Partnership and City of Philadelphia Jan 31, 2019 11:23 am

The City of Philadelphia, Sunlight Foundation and Open Contracting Partnership launch a new open data project to provide nutritious food for residents and better opportunities for local business as part of the City’s shift to value-based food purchasing.

Open for opportunity: Re-imagining Procurement through Open Contracting

by Open Cities team, Open Contracting Partnership and City of Los Angeles Dec 11, 2018 10:14 am

Photo by Dan Eckert / CC It is clear from the 360 degree view from the City Hall Observation Deck... View Article

A new pilot to put open contracting best practices into action

by Open Cities team and Open Contracting Partnership Jun 25, 2018 11:18 am

Contracting in U.S. cities is a big deal. How big? Consider this: the District of Columbia’s Office of Contracting and Procurement manages the purchase of nearly $5.6 billion in goods and services — and some of those are the most direct ways a city can improve the lives of its residents.

Recording: “Unseal the Deal! How open contracting can improve your city’s procurement process”

by Open Cities team Jun 6, 2018 4:35 pm

Yesterday we hosted "Unseal the Deal! How open contracting can improve your city’s procurement process," a webinar with our partners from the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP), the Harvard Kennedy School's Government Performance Lab (GPL), and the City of Glendale, Arizona to discuss how open contracting can help cities get more bids, better bids, more contractors, and better outcomes—all while mitigating risks of corruption and improving trust and integrity—through an open approach to procurement. If you missed it, the recording of the webinar and presentation slides are now available.

What we’re looking forward to at 2018’s Code for America Summit

by Open Cities team May 29, 2018 11:58 am

Sunlight’s Open Cities team is headed out to Oakland, CA this week for the 2018 Code for America Summit. If you are working on open government or open data in your city and are coming to the Summit, we want to talk to you! Please come say hello — we are friendly and would love to learn about your work. We’re also looking forward to learning new ideas and hearing from some of the leaders in this field. In particular, here’s what our team members are excited about and looking forward to.

Unseal the deal! How open contracting can improve your city’s procurement process

by Open Cities team May 15, 2018 4:19 pm

On Tuesday, June 5, join the Sunlight Foundation's Open Cities team, the Open Contracting Partnership, Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab, and the City of Glendale, Arizona for a webinar discussion about how open data can be used to improve contracting outcomes, including tips for how cities anywhere can use this approach.

Glendale, AZ gets tactical and looks at how opening data could improve procurement

by Open Cities team May 9, 2018 12:59 pm

Our work on open contracting in Glendale has generated recommendations for any city aiming to use open contracting data to improve procurement processes.

Here are all the open data user personas created in our workshops

by Open Cities team May 7, 2018 4:00 pm

Understanding who wants to use public information and why is one of the best things cities can do to improve the impact and relevance of their open data programs. The Sunlight Open Cities team helps city staff develop open data user personas, and we wanted to share some of these personas to spark ideas and inspiration for open data staff in other cities.

A tactical data toolkit will help nonprofits in Madison, WI make the case for their work

by Open Cities team May 2, 2018 11:11 am

Today we are incredibly proud to present the result of our Tactical Data Engagement project with the City of Madison, WI. The final product is a data toolkit designed to help nonprofit organizations working to reduce youth violence on Madison’s Northside find and use open data to better contextualize their work and goals in grant applications to the City.